Entering the season with only two returning players, the girls varsity basketball team comes into the year shorter and less experienced.

“I think anytime you have new personal, you are always looking to change the scheme that you are working with,” head coach Brian Guilfoyle said. “Plays and even drills are different.

But it doesn’t mean you change the program philosophy either.”

The scheme last year featured 6’3” star Zoe Wallis, who finished second in blocks in the St. Louis area.

“We do run a more spread out offense than last year,” Guilfoyle said. “That gives the girls opportunities to be faster and more athletic. We also have the ability to press more than in the past because we have greater speed, so we are able to get up and down the court a little quicker. Which is an advantage in order to balance out the disadvantage that you may have in height.”

Returning varsity contributor sophomore Chyna Moore believes that most of the teams points can come off of fast breaks and quick plays.

“The game is going to be a lot faster than last year,” Moore said. “Last year we had to slow things down because of Zoe. She took more time to get down the court. Her sister Paige has gotten faster and better so she can get down the court with us.”

In his 5th year as varsity head coach, Guilfoyle said he realizes that rebounding is an critical point in the game of basketball.

“Rebounding is always key in basketball,” Guilfoyle said. “I think that [the players] have to buy into the mentality of working really hard, and if you are a hard worker, that’s half of the battle.”

While his team runs shorter than others, Guilfoyle is optimistic that height doesn’t directly translate result in rebounds.

“It doesn’t matter how tall you are,” Guilfoyle said. “It’s more of the center of gravity and how well you use your body to force the person out of the middle. Also, we have girls with good leaping ability, and even though we not be tall, we can still jump and I think that kind of equalizes it.”

Following in her sisters footsteps, sophomore Paige Wallis believes that there won’t be much of a difference in the focal point of the offense.

“Obviously height is important in sports,” Wallis said. “But I think as long as you change your plays often enough and you know all of them and we play together well, height shouldn’t be a huge issue.”

A long with the loss of height, no healthy seniors causes a possible lack of leadership on the court.

“I think the leadership is going to have to come from the team as a whole because there are no seniors,” Wallis said. “Usually seniors are the leaders on the team or are expected to be, but since we don’t have any I think we are all going to have to be leaders together.”

According to Guilfoyle, the leadership starts with the coaches, and then leads down to the players.

“I think the biggest thing is you are going to see only two returning members on varsity this year,” Guilfoyle said. “They saw a lot of playing time last year so there is a great opportunity for some of the younger players to gain experience.”